SHILLONG: Under criticism from various quarters, including the state human rights panel following the death of a newborn baby in Ganesh Das Hospital, the state government has asked the hospitals not to deny admission to any patient approaching them for various health services.
In an order, the Health department, while referring to the issue of admission of patients in hospitals for non-COVID related cases from containment areas, said that it has been brought to the notice of the government that there have been instances where emergency medical services have not been provided to patients coming from the containment areas on grounds of unavailability of beds in the isolation ward dedicated for suspected COVID-19 patients.
“In this regard, the government strongly advises that hospitals should not deny admission to any health-seeking individuals approaching them for various health services”, the order said.
As a precautionary measure, the Health department has also issued instructions to be followed by hospitals while admitting patients from both containment and non-containment areas.
“All hospitals should have a triage system wherein individuals approaching the hospitals for admission are screened based on a checklist, where their travel history and contact history may be obtained and detailed examination for symptoms of COVID-19, severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) may be done”, the order said.
Based on the screening assessment, high-risk and low-risk individuals will be determined. Low-risk individuals showing no symptoms should be admitted immediately and for high-risk individuals in emergency cases, Rapid Antigen Test should be conducted”, the Health department said.
According to the government, based on the test result, necessary procedures should be taken immediately.
“It is to be noted that the patient must be placed in the isolation ward dedicated for suspected COVID-19 cases until the test results are declared and to meet the bed requirement for such cases, hospitals are to increase the capacity of their isolation wards so that people seeking various health services can be accommodated accordingly”, the order said.
The department has also recommended arrangement for additional temporary beds. “In case hospitals cannot admit patients due to unavailability of beds or required facilities, they should take a proactive approach to coordinate with other hospitals and refer the patients to another hospital where beds or required facilities are available. For such referral services, hospitals are to coordinate with DHS (MI),” it said. The hospitals have been asked to use Hospital Management System Portal (https://app.hmsmegha.co.in) developed by the Department of Health & Family Welfare to manage the patients in the hospital.
“This will help in knowing the availability of beds in other hospitals as well. Mission Director, National Health Mission, Meghalaya ([email protected]) may be coordinated for training and hand holding for using the HMS portal in the hospitals”, the department said.
Besides, the hospitals are to provide a daily occupation of their respective isolation wards to those who man the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) to ensure accurate record of availability of isolation beds which can be shared whenever needed.
